


Better Friends

by Chaosprincess



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, F/M, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Super Pal Trio (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 10:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20241457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaosprincess/pseuds/Chaosprincess
Summary: Ethical dilemma #382… or was it 383? Catra seems to have lied about my whereabouts as well as my part in preventing the end of all existence. My records show that Hordak has a tendency to overreact when his trust is violated. Do I attempt to inform him of the truth, and risk getting Catra executed? Or do I go along with the deception and face Hordak’s wrath on my own? But isn’t lying to Hordak an ethical dilemma all on it’s own? Perhaps-





	Better Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is a no Bashing zone. I love Catra AND Entrapta AND Scorpia AND Hordak. I just want Super Pal Trio and Entrapdak at the same time. <3

“Gotcha!” Entrapta cried out in triumph as her map of Etheria lit up like a firework with electrical activity. 

From her port window, she could see nothing but untamed wilderness, but she had long suspected that the remainder of the Horde had literally gone underground. She was pleased that her hypothesis was correct. She was more than pleased… she was thrilled. She couldn’t wait to tell Hordak all about her daring escape from Beast Island, and all the fascinating mysteries of the First Ones tech she’d found there.

Her descent from the sky was more of a crash than a proper landing. She hadn’t exactly had time to fashion a proper hovering mechanism before fleeing for her life. If the Horde was not already aware of her presence, then this would certainly get their attention. Excitedly, she popped the hatch to her ship and pulled herself free from the twisted metal with the iron grip of her purple hair.

“HOOOOOORDAK! I’M HOOOOOOOME~!” Entrapta sang, flashing a huge grin at the dozen or so light rifles pointed at her face. “Oh hey, Catra.”

“Entrapta?!” Catra gasped.

There were several potential emotions that could be gleaned from her feline features, but happiness was not among them. Interesting.

“Entrapta! You’re safe!” Scorpia cried, rushing over and scooping the petite scientist in her claws. 

In sharp contrast to Catra, Scorpia’s expression did not register as anything other than joy. How fascinating. 

“I was sooooooooooo worried about you! How have you been? How did you manage to escape from Beast-”

“ENTRAPTA!” 

Scorpia tensed, nearly crushing Entrapta in her incredibly strong arms. The rifles lowered, and all eyes turned to look at Hordak, who had emerged from what appeared to be the base of a very large tree. An illusion of the light kept the door to their underground base hidden. The technology was crude and imperfect, but Entrapta could certainly improve it once she was settled. 

But there was something very wrong. Hordak had been angry with her many times before, but he had never looked at her like this. The red glow in his eyes, the snarl in his expression, Entrapta’s internal database informed her that this expression was akin to disgust. 

“Come to lead your fellow princesses on another raid?” Hordak asked with a distinct hiss in his tone. 

“Another what now?” Entrapta repeated, scouring her mind for potential meanings.

Gently, her tentacle-like hair nudged Scorpia away so that her feet could touch the ground. She looked up at Hordak, searching his expression for some clue as to what she had done wrong this time. 

“Don’t feign ignorance with me, Princess! Catra has informed me of your betrayal.”

Entrapta blinked once, twice, three times, and glanced at Catra, who immediately averted her eyes and lowered her ears. Her data indicated that these gestures were signs of guilt. Ordinarily, she would grab her recorder to make notes, but it was lost rather early in her months on Beast Island, and she needed every scrap of tech she could find for her escape pod. She had learned to make do with her mind until she could build a new recorder. 

_Ethical dilemma #382… or was it 83? Catra seems to have lied about my whereabouts as well as my part in preventing the end of all existence. My records show that Hordak has a tendency to overreact when his trust is violated. Do I attempt to inform him of the truth, and risk getting Catra executed? Or do I go along with the deception and face Hordak’s wrath on my own? But isn’t lying to Hordak an ethical dilemma all on it’s own? Perhaps-_

“WELL?!” Hordak snapped, practically nose to nose with her.

She hadn’t noticed in her daze, but he had certainly snapped her out of it. Despite his yelling, Entrapta could see something beyond the anger. His voice was rougher than it was when he used to yell at Catra… Hoarser. Was he in pain? Was it physical or….? 

“Whatever Catra told you was true,” Entrapta said firmly. 

There were gasps from the other horde members, Catra and Scorpia included. 

Hordak leaned back, unable to hide his shock… his hurt. 

“The data indicated that the experiment would be a catastrophic failure of extinction level proportion,” Entrapta continued calmly, looking Hordak directly in the eye. She had committed to this completely, and what she was saying was not altogether untrue. “Everyone would have been wiped out, including you! And I-”

She cut herself off, mindful of the onlookers.

“I couldn’t find you,” she said, redirecting. “There was a chance that you would ignore the data and go through with it. It was a split second decision-”

Much like this one.

“I made the call. Whatever you want to do to me as a result, I accept it. But I don’t regret saving your life… Any of your lives.”

There was a long pause. Hordak’s expression was… difficult to read. He looked stoic, still angry but less the fiery destructive kind. When he spoke, his voice was cold.

“That is unfortunate,” he said quietly. “I expected sounder decision-making from you.” 

“Hordak-” Catra started. 

“SILENCE!” Hordak commanded. “This Princess has betrayed the Horde for the last time. Take her to her cell.”

“Uh, Mr. Hordak, Sir?” Kyle stuttered. “We don’t have cells yet-”

“THEN MAKE ONE!” Hordak shouted. “Everyone else start cleaning and salvaging this wreckage, before it compromises our location. We’ve wasted enough time on this worthless creature,” Hordak hissed, clenching his fists so hard that they shook. 

Prisoner… Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad… It hadn’t been too bad before. Still, Entrapta’s heart sank low in her chest and her gaze lowered to the ground. Part of her had hoped that Hordak would not believe her. After all the time that they had spent together in the lab, how could he not know that she was lying? Catra had once said that she was a horrible liar… Perhaps she had been improving with the Horde’s influence? 

“Let’s go,” Scorpia said, placing a claw on Entrapta’s shoulder. 

From her peripheral, Entrapta could see Catra reach for her other shoulder as well but her hand stopped just short and fell limply to her side. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest and trailed behind her. 

The “prison” was a storage unit on one of the lowest levels of the new subterranean Fright Zone. There were several boxes stacked in the corners, but no room was completely empty and suitable for a holding cell. It was the best they could do. There was no screen to look out into the hallway, and no bars on the door. While locked in here, Entrapta would be left in total isolation. 

Scorpia and Catra lingered in the room and closed the door behind them, while Entrapta settled into corner, perched on her hair.

“What are you up to, Entrapta? Why did you lie?” Catra blurted out at last, claws digging into her own skin. 

“You seem… displeased,” Entrapta muttered, tilting her head and squinting at the Force Captain. “My data indicated that lying on another’s behalf at the expense of oneself is a strong sign of friendship.” 

“Friendship?!” Catra hissed. “I ELECTROCUTED YOU! I SENT YOU TO BEAST ISLAND TO DIE! Are those signs of strong friendship?!”

“Admittedly no,” Entrapta said bluntly. “However, it occurred to me that you were in an unwell state of mind when you took those actions. I was inattentive to your obvious distress and worded my intentions poorly. In that moment, I became a threat to your goals. It was only logical, if a little cold, for you to remove me from the situation.” 

“WHAT?!” Catra shrieked, seeming to comprehend just enough to be offended, but not enough to mount a proper rebuttal. “Entrapta, if this is some kind of trick so you can use the truth against me later-”

“It’s not. But I understand why your history with betrayal from close friends would lead you to believe it is. I’ll simply have to prove you wrong by not engaging in that behavior, and not giving up on being your friend.” 

Scorpia had an interesting expression on her face. She was smiling, but her eyes were watering as if she might cry. Her claws were clasped together and raised to her lips as if in prayer. Apparently, Entrapta had said something relatable. She really wished she had a recorder to keep up with these observations. 

“I thought Hordak was your friend,” Catra spat, ears laid back in hostility. 

“Ooooooooooh, so there it is!” Entrapta said with a grin, rising up on her hair.

“Th- There what is?” Catra asked, clearly annoyed but apprehensive.

“You were upset that I was spending so much time with Hordak, and that’s why our friendship fell into disrepair.”

“Pfft, as if!” Catra muttered, claws squeezing so hard that they nearly drew blood from her own arms.

“But Catra, you were my friend first… Why didn’t you just talk to me about Hordak? If I’d known it was upsetting you-”

“YOU DID KNOW!” Catra shouted, teeth bared. “You knew exactly how I felt about it! I told you time and time again to stay away from him and you never listened! You’d rather hang out with him than with me! And he liked you better than me on top of that so I was losing my standing with him and- AAAAARGH!”

“Oh Catra-!” Entrapta murmured, extending a coil of purple hair to touch her shoulder which was soundly swiped at by Catra’s claw. 

Purple tufts of Entrapta’s hair fell lifelessly on the floor. 

“Catra, stop!” Scorpia demanded. 

“NO! This is all HER fault! If she’d just built a better portal NONE of this would have happened! We wouldn’t have lost our home! She and I will NEVER be friends!” Catra shouted, storming towards the door, only to be scooped up by Scorpia’s massive claws. “PUT ME DOWN!” 

“NO!” Scorpia shouted with such force and conviction that Catra was startled from her rage. “We are not leaving this room until you and Entrapta work this out! She laid her life on the line for you out there. Lord Hordak could have executed her. And if she had told the truth, YOU could have been the one getting executed. If that’s not friendship then I don’t know what is. So you are going to stay right here and hear what Entrapta has to say.” 

Catra hissed, squirmed, and clawed at Scorpia, who bravely endured until the Force Captain grew too exhausted to continue fighting. 

“Fiiiiiiiiiiine!” Catra cried brokenly, going limp in Scorpia's arms. 

Scorpia held her tightly all the same, still skeptical of a feigned surrender.

“Entrapta, if you’d please continue…” Scorpia said.

“Thank you,” Entrapta said, her tone decidedly melancholy. She spoke softly and looked directly at Catra’s face even as her friend continued to avert her eyes. “Catra… I’m sure you’re quite aware by now, but I can be a little… dense… at times.” 

“Ya think?!"

“Shh,” Scorpia hushed. 

“I was just so focused on the science and the vast potential for data collecting that I wound up ignoring your orders and neglecting our friendship. To be fair, I thought that your reasoning for saying those things was a fear that you might get in trouble because I was irritating Hordak. However, once it became clear that my presence was not an annoyance to him and held no possibility of getting you in trouble, I didn’t understand why would still be upset about it… And I didn’t take the time to understand it… I’m sorry.” 

“You’re sorry…? You’re SORRY?!” Catra shrieked, shutting her eyes against the tears. “After everything I’ve done, you’re the one apologizing! How can you be so STUPID! SO- SO-?!”

“Such a good friend…” Scorpia finished.

Catra inhaled and exhaled sharply a couple of times, but it did not stifle the sob.

“Why…?” she rasped quietly. “Why would anyone want to be my friend…?”

Entrapta smiled and this time when her purple hair curled around Catra’s shoulder, it was not batted away. 

“Because you’re clever, and funny, and nice to be around,” Entrapta said in a gentle tone. 

Catra gave a disbelieving snort.

“Okay, sometimes you’re nice to be around! I also really love when you run your fingers through my hair! And how you kind of purr when you’re pleased with my work! And how you ask questions about my theories, even if I have to dumb them down for you a bit-”

Catra laughed,somewhat bitterly, but she accepted her defeat. 

“Alright, alright, okay! Point taken.”

“I feel the same way!” Scorpia jumped in. “We love you, Catra! And even if you’re...challenging sometimes… we’re not going to give up on you! Cause that’s not what friends do!” 

“What if I’m just a bad friend…?” Catra asked, eyes on the floor.

Entrapta lifted Catra’s sharp chin with a tendril of purple hair. 

“Then we’ll help you learn to be a better one! Just like I’m learning to be a better one!”

“And you don’t have to change for us to like you! We like you just the way you are!” Scorpia interjected. 

“That’s right! We just want you to stop hurting yourself!” Entrapta said. “And putting yourself in danger.”

“We really have to work on those insecurities, Catra,” Scorpia said.

“Okay!” Catra hissed. “I miss the supportive part.”

“Ahhh, best friend hug,” Entrapta cooed, draping her arms and hair around her friends.

“What? No!” 

“SUPER PAL TRIO HUG!” Scorpia called, squeezing the pair of them tightly.

“ACK!” Catra squawked as she was instantly smothered in hair, claws, and arms. 

The hug persisted until she completely relaxed in their arms with a soft sigh. 

Entrapta was the first to release her friends from her grasp.

“You’d better go. Hordak will get suspicious.” 

Scorpia set Catra down gently and took a few steps back, braced for retaliation.

“Right…” Catra murmured, folding her arms across her chest and inspecting the oil stains on the floor. “Sorry about that… I know that you two were really close. I’m... really sorry I ruined it for you.”

“Oh that? Don’t worry about that!” Entrapta said cheerfully. “Hordak might be a taaaaaaad miffed right now, but he’ll understand eventually. It was simply too dangerous to go through with! One way or another.” 

“If you say so…” Catra muttered. “I’ll...try to get your tablet thing back for you. I think it’s in storage somewhere.”

“REALLY?!” Entrapta exclaimed, starry eyed. “Catra, you really are the best!” 

“Pssssssh, hardly,” Catra brushed off. “You’re in here because of me. The least I can do is make your stay comfortable.” 

“Ooooh, I’ll get you blankets! And you like tiny food right? I can cut up some ration bars for you!” Scorpia exclaimed. 

“That would be amazing! You two are the best! Now shoo before you get in trouble! Shoo!”

“We’re going, we’re going,” Catra muttered as Entrapta ushered them out.

The door closed and the lock clicked behind them.

***

As predicted, her stay in the storage room was not altogether unpleasant. Catra and Scorpia delivered her meals when they were not on missions, greatly increasing their social interaction and strengthening their bonds. As promised, Catra retrieved Entrapta’s tablet and while it had been in dire need of recharging, that was nothing that fiddling with the wiring behind the loose wall panels could not fix. Scorpia had brought her blankets and tiny ration bars. The bars were still bland and not very tasty, but they were cut into such cute little squares that she could not help popping them into her mouth every once in a while. 

Naturally, Entrapta was not content with just access to her tablet, but she didn’t want to trouble her friends too much. She had carefully examined the contents of every box in the room and fashioned every invention she could manage out of the salvaged tech. She had also hacked nearby patrol bots to get a visual on what was going on outside the “cell.” And all of this had to be easy to hide, in the event that someone other than Catra or Scorpia was sent to check on her. 

Like today. 

When the lock clicked at what she could only estimate was the middle of the night because dinner had been hours ago, and the door opened to reveal-

“Hordak!”

Hordak cringed slightly and looked behind him, as if checking to see if anyone had heard. Satisfied that no one was coming to investigate the yell (and mildly concerned by the lax security), he shut the door behind him and cleared his throat. 

“There are some things that we need to discuss. I thought it best to do so in private.” 

“Oooooh, like how I shattered your trust in me, but you haven’t sentenced me to die yet?” Entrapta asked, ever insightful and far too excited given the subject matter.

“...Yes.” 

“Oh goody!”Entrapta said, shaping her hair into a comfortable chair and kicking her feet slightly. “Okay, you start.”

“Of course I-” Hordak hissed, then sighed and massaged his forehead. “We’ll start with… Entrapta… why are you here?” 

“Is that a deep existential question, or are you asking about my reasoning?”

“Your reasoning. Why did you return following your alleged betrayal? Why have you yet to escape, when security is so woefully inadequate...and inept.”

“Well, I came here hoping that you would be understanding given the unusual circumstances of my sudden departure. I couldn’t find you following the destruction of the portal. I wasn’t even sure if you were alive. I’m glad to find that you are!” Entrapta said with unabashed fondness. 

Hordak frowned and seemed to shy from her adoring gaze. Entrapta waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts. 

“Your concern for me was so great that you risked my wrath?” Hordak asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Sure was!” Entrapta exclaimed cheerfully.

“Hmmm,” Hordak hummed skeptically, “But then why would you stay? Your curiosity was sated. I was alive, as were your so-called friends, and I did not, as you put it, ‘understand.’ So again, I ask you, why are you here? A woman of your intelligence could have escaped but hours after you were placed here.” 

“But if I’d left we’d never have spoken again,” Entrapta pointed out.

“You had no way of knowing that I would ever speak to you again.” 

“While it’s true that the chances of us never speaking to each other again were incredibly high, I held out hope that you would beat the odds and that your desire for knowledge would outweigh your unbridled rage.” 

Hordak raised an eyebrow, uncertain of whether he was being insulted or praised. 

“In any case,” he began with a slight growl. “I want to know why you betrayed me.”

Entrapta frowned and tilted her head.

“We’ve been over this. Weren’t you paying attention? Your safety, my safety, all of reality was at stake!”

“That’s not what I-!” Hordak snapped, pressing his hand to his forehead. He exhaled slowly and started again. “What I meant to ask was, why didn’t you come to me with your concerns? Why did you not trust me?” 

Entrapta’s heart wrenched painfully in her chest. 

_I did..._ she wanted to say. But she couldn’t. Not without revealing Catra’s deception. 

She turned away, unable to meet his gaze. 

“I made a mistake,” she said evasively. “In fact, if I were to go through and rank my mistakes from most colossal to most minuscule, I would say that this would easily be at the top of the list. Hordak, there’s nothing I regret more than not finding you and telling you sooner! If I had only found you before the princesses arrived… This would all be different.” 

“...You didn’t call the princesses in the first place?”

“Huh?”

“You said the princesses arrived.”

“Oh, yes! Well, you see, they were already on their way and I just… helped them along,” Entrapta said with an anxious smile, still doing her best to maintain her honesty. 

She did help them along… After the portal had already been switched on. 

Maybe her lying had not improved. 

Hordak’s red eyes narrowed further with suspicion. 

Entrapta allowed the smile to fade and shifted back to the truth of the matter. 

“I’m really very sorry,” she said quietly. “I never meant to betray your trust. I thought I was doing the right thing, and if I could do it all over… I’d choose differently. I’d choose _you._”

Hordak’s eyes flashed orange, startled by the revelation. And for a moment it seemed that maybe, despite it all, they would be okay. But then his expression sank from tentative hopefulness to sheer heartbreak. The pain in his eyes as he met her own, it was almost too much bear. 

“But you can’t do it over,” he said hoarsely, turning away. “It is already done.”

“Hordak WAIT-” Entrapta called, her voice breaking slightly. 

He sighed and turned back to her. He waited patiently for her to continue, but Entrapta was at a complete loss for words. All she knew was that she couldn’t lose her friend, and she definitely could not lose her lab partner! Not again!

“Your loyalty to Catra is… impressive.” Hordak said with visible reluctance.

“...Huh?” 

“I have said many times before. There is nothing that I do not know.” 

“Ohhhh, so Imp told you.”

“THAT IS NOT- UGH!” 

“So you know everything.” 

“Yes,” Hordak hissed. 

“...Is Catra alive…?” Entrapta asked quietly. 

“Of course she is! She is my top force commander, my second in command! You should have trusted me in the first place that I wouldn’t slay her if you had simply requested-” 

“You’re right.”

“That is no excu- hmm. What?” 

“You’re right,” Entrapta said simply. “I was worried because my data indicated that you were prone to violent outbursts… particularly towards Catra. I thought that revealing the truth would endanger her life again, but that’s no excuse for not trusting you to spare her if I asked. After all, you’ve done it before…”

“Yes, well… See to it that it doesn’t happen again.” 

Entrapta looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. 

“So...what happens now?” 

“Now, we will move you to your new cell.”

“Oh…” Entrapta said, her hair drooping slightly. 

“One in closer proximity to the Sanctum...With air ducts.” 

Entrapta grinned.


End file.
